2 Samuel 4:1

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"... his hands were feeble." 2 Samuel 4:1 .

The man spoken of was Saul's son, and as the son of a king what reason had he to have enfeebled hands? The reason is, that Abner was dead. But could not a king's son do without Abner? Have not king's sons abundant resources in themselves, without being dependent upon outsiders however distinguished? All history replies in the negative. Men belong to one another. The king's son was nothing without Abner, but much with him. The unit one is but a singular number, but the moment a cipher is added to it it becomes ten, and another cipher turns the ten into a hundred. The integer is little by itself, the cipher is nothing at all when it stands alone, but when they are brought together they begin to make themselves felt. It is precisely so in our social relations. What is the husband without the wife? What is the son without the father? What is the scholar without the teacher? What is the flock without the shepherd? It is of no account to reason that there is a variety of value in men, some being worth much, and others being worth little; the fact is that they must all be brought into co-operation, and in their unity they must begin to realise their strength. The pastor without the Church is almost powerless; the Church without the pastor is as sheep not having a shepherd. In proportion to a man's greatness will he value the help of others. His very greatness, provided it be intellectual and moral, will enable him to see that every man has his value and his importance in society, and that the more men are entrusted with influence the more they are developed in moral dignity, provided the conscience be pure, and the motive of the whole life be unselfish and lofty. It would seem as if Jesus Christ himself felt that he needed the presence and sympathy of his disciples. Once he said, "Will ye also go away?" True, he could have done without them all, but in a higher truth he needed them all, and he failed not to make them feel how near and dear they were to all his loftiest solicitudes.